Avatar: Shadow of the Earth
by hydraslayer123
Summary: It has been fourteen years since the death of Avatar Korra. Two years ago, the Order of the White Lotus found the new Avatar. As the new Avatar travels the world with his friends to master the elements, a devious group lurks in the shadows, preparing to take the world for themselves. Rated T for eventual swearing and bloody violence.


Avatar

Shadow of the Earth

Chapter 1

A New Avatar

As the members of the White Lotus approached the small Earth Kingdom Village, they were relieved to see it was still quite old fashioned. They walked into the village and walked up to a large rock house. They heard someone Earthbending in the backyard, and knocked on the door. Two people answered the knock, a man and a woman.

"Yes?" the man said as he opened the door. When he saw who it was, he bowed respectfully along with the woman, "Ah, the White Lotus. It has been some time since our little village has been visited by anyone so important."

"We are on a search for the Avatar," one of the White Lotus members said, bowing as well to the people with his companions, "We have had no claims since Avatar Korra's death twelve years ago, so we have set off to find him or her ourselves."

"If we may ask, who is Earthbending in your backyard?" another of the White Lotus members asked.

"Oh, that's just our son, Inseki," the woman said, smiling as they all stood straight up again, "Would you like me to call him? He's such a talented boy."

"Yes, please do, along with every other Earthbending child twelve and under," the first White Lotus agent said, "We need to test them all to see if they are the one."

"Well, if the test is long, you'll be happy to know he's the only one who fits that description," the man laughed, "He's a great kid, but I doubt he's the Avatar."

"Now Honey, they haven't even done the test yet," the woman smiled, laughing a bit, "Though you are right. My son the Avatar…it's actually a funny thought!"

"Please call him. We must make sure whether or not he is or isn't," a third White Lotus agent piped up, "There's no such thing as being too careful."

The man nodded, "Alright then…Inseki! You have visitors!"

The five of them heard a rumbling, and suddenly a boy wearing tattered clothing with greasy black hair catapulted over the house and landed behind them.

"Hi!" the boy, Inseki, said, grinning widely.

The White Lotus members blinked, astonished that a boy of merely twelve could do such a thing. One of them finally cleared their throat and said, "Young man, I am…"

"A member of the White Lotus, here to give me a very important test," the boy finished before he could, a smile plastered on his face, "My friend told me you'd come someday, and when that day came I would prove myself in a way other than your test."

The White Lotus members looked shocked, and one of them soon piped up, "Who was this friend of yours?"

"The big badgermole in the caves near the city," he said, pointing towards the caves he was speaking of, "He said that I would be a great Earthbender one day, like Toph Beifong and Old King Bumi."

The White Lotus members looked at each other, then turned to the boy, "May we meet with this badgermole?"

"Sure!" the boy began leading them to the cave system, walking down through the caves as if he knew them by heart.

The White Lotus looked at each other, unsure of what to make of all this. Suddenly, they reached a large chamber of the caves, lit up by giant glowing crystals. Standing in the middle of the chamber was a large spirit that took the shape of a badgermole. As Inseki approached it casually, the White Lotus members looked around the cave in awe.

"Good morning, teacher!" the boy said, bowing respectfully, "You were right! The White Lotus did come!"

The spirit nodded, then spoke to the White Lotus members, "Test the boy here, where he shall prove himself."

The eldest of the White Lotus members shook his head, "There is no need. This is proof enough."

"Proof of what?" Inseki asked, looking from the spirit to the White Lotus members.

"What is your name, boy?" the White Lotus members asked, "Your full name."

"Inseki Kido. Some of my friends call me Terra because of how good an Earthbender I am," he replied, frowning, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Inseki Terra Kido…" the three agents of the Order of the White Lotus bowed to him, "You are the Avatar, bridge between the two worlds, Mortal and Spirit combined, wielder of the Four Elements…"

"I'm the Avatar?!" Inseki yelled out, interrupting the White Lotus members. He then bowed respectfully, "I…I am honored to be given this privilege."

The four of them then straightened up and walked out of the caves. The White Lotus members informed Inseki's parents that they would help finish his Earthbending training in safety on Air Temple Island. As they walked away, Inseki looked back at his village and waved to his mother and father, not knowing when he would see them again…

Two Years Later…

"Begin," the instructor said, watching as Inseki fought with the thirteen Earthbending Masters placed before him.

Inseki, now fourteen years of age, easily maneuvered around the strikes from the other Earthbenders despite being blindfolded. He stomped and punched forward, lifting up a stone and sending it out in one fluid motion. It hit its target, and Inseki smiled. He quickly returned to a serious look on his face as he dodged the attacks from his twelve other opponents. He burrowed underground swiftly, making all the tunnels he needed and wrapping himself in sand and dust to keep him from actually touching the ground inside. He moved through and popped up next to one of his teachers, hitting them with a rock fist. He then moved down again before he could be struck. He popped up in between two of the teachers, grabbed their metal wrist guards, and used metal bending to stick them together, making them unable to move. He then felt metal wrap around his entire body. He grinned and stomped one foot, sending the master who did this into the air. He then moved one eyebrow up, lifting a chunk of rock and sending it at another master. He proceeded to run forward, still covered with metal from the waist up, and face the rest of his foes with martial arts. A few minutes later, he stood there, out of breath. He bent the metal from himself and pulled off the blindfold. He then looked to the White Lotus and bowed respectfully.

"You have passed," the White Lotus Earthbending Full Master said, nodding and stroking his aged white beard, "For a second time, since you weren't happy with your last results…"

"Whoo-hoo!" Inseki yelled out, lifting both hands in victory, then lowered them and said, "Er, I mean…"

"Avatar Korra had a similar reaction to passing a test. Do not be ashamed of being proud, but avoid pride if it is not deserved," a non-bending spiritual leader of the White Lotus said, "In other words, go ahead and celebrate your victory. We begin Firebending tomorrow…"

"No," Inseki said, startling everyone there but the spiritual leader, "I don't want to stay cooped up here. I want to travel the world, see new places, and meet new people."

"But…" the Earthbending Full Master started to protest, but the spiritual leader raised a hand for silence.

"I agree with the young Avatar," the spiritual leader said, smiling, "By tradition, the Avatar is to travel the world and find their own teachers. I believe we should give the Avatar the chance to do just that."

Inseki smiled, bowing to the spiritual leader, "Thank you, Master."

"But…" the Earthbending Full Master tried to protest again.

Before he could however, Inseki had already run to the ledge and jumped down to the water below. Just before he hit the water, a large snake-like creature came up, blasting air at him to stop him for a second as it moved its back where he could land on it.

"Thank you, Kali," he said to the 50 foot long Unagi, petting its snout, "Let's get to the mainland, kay girl?"

The Unagi blasted water from its nose in a snort, swimming swiftly to the shore of Republic City. When it reached the docks, Inseki jumped off onto the pier.

"I'll be back in a bit, girl," he said, petting her snout again before using Earthbending to launch a giant koi to Kali.

The Unagi hissed, moving swiftly and snapping up the koi in a single bite before diving back into the water. Inseki then turned to the city and ran into its many streets and buildings. His first day here it had hurt his head seeing all the fancy technology. Since then he had gotten used to it. As he bought some supplies, he saw a teenage girl, about eighteen, running swiftly through the streets. He thought nothing of it until he saw that there was a Satomobile with three punks he recognized hot on her heels.

"I'll be back in a second!" he told the shopkeeper, running after them. He stomped one foot, moving the earth to where it launched him forward. He landed on the back of the car, twisting one foot to keep the metal around it so he couldn't be knocked off. He then broke through the glass with a punch, grabbed a Firebender, and threw him right into the arms of a very confused officer. He then climbed into the car and struggled with a Waterbender for a few minutes before knocking him out of the car as well, the Waterbender landing directly in front of a restaurant where three officers were on a stake out. He then stomped down, putting his foot into the ground and bringing the Satomobile to a stop. The Earthbender turned around and went to attack him, but Inseki dodged the punch and hit the Earthbender in the chest, then the arms, and finally the head, knocking him out. He stepped out of the car with the Earthbender and used metal from the Satomobile to cuff the crooks hands together. He then began walking back to the market, but was stopped quickly by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the girl that had been running from the three goons.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. She was wearing clothes that were normal amongst common Earth Kingdom families. She ran off before Inseki could reply, and he shook his head, thinking nothing of it. As he bought supplies at the market, he thought he saw a few shadows moving around in the corner of his eyes, but when he looked there was no one there. As he headed back to the pier, he took a shortcut he knew very well. As he headed through the dark alleyway, he heard a scream.

"That sounded like…" he jumped up, using the earth to catapult himself over the buildings. He found the girl from earlier being mugged by some goons from another Bending Gang.

"Hey!" Inseki yelled, catching their attention, "Why don't you try and deal with me?"

The three goons began to bend their respective elements at him, but he dodged or blocked each attack. He smiled, noticing a slip up on the Earthbender's part and using it against him, knocking him into the Waterbender. He then jumped down, landed in front of the Firebender, looked him dead in the eye and said, "Boo."

The Firebender ran away, the other two goons following him, and all three of them bumped into a group of officers who were patrolling the streets.

"You really need to be more careful," Inseki said, turning to the girl.

"Well, I'm kind of new in town…" she replied, rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly, "how old are you?"

"Fourteen," he replied, crossing his arms.

"FOURTEEN?" the girl looked shocked, then pointed a finger at Inseki, "But…you're a better Earthbender than I am, and I'm eighteen! I thought you were short, but I'm just a horrible Earthbender!"

"GRRR…I'M NOT SHORT!" Inseki yelled at her, then calmed down, "And you're not a horrible Earhtbender. You just have less strict training than I do."

"How do you know? You haven't even seen my Earthbending, and you never met my teacher," she said, squinting at him.

"I was trained by the White Lotus. They don't exactly give you a day off training, even if you're sick," he said, uncrossing his arms and standing with a slouch, "Heck, if they caught me over here fighting with some goons instead of over there training, they'd have my skin. Luckily, I passed my test this morning."

"Wait…you were trained…by the Order of the White Lotus…" the girl's eyes opened with realization, "But…they only train…the Ava…"

Inseki bent a piece of earth to wrap around her mouth before she could finish talking, "Yes, that's me. I'm about to leave the city and go on a big adventure around the world to find good teachers for the other elements."

The girl tried to speak, but her voice was muffled by the rock. She tore it off using her own Earthbending and said, "I'm going with you!"

"Say what?" Inseki looked at her like she was insane.

"I told my village I was going to go out and see the world. But so far, I've only come here and gotten in trouble," she said, now on her hands and knees and seeming to bow, "I also want to learn from you about Earthbending. Please, I promise I won't be a burden. I'm a good cook! So long as someone else starts the fire…"

Inseki considered it for a moment, thinking, _I could use a cook…if she's telling the truth about that…thinking on it, if I train her I could hone my own skills as well, so I'd never get rusty…hmmm…_

The girl gulped, waiting for the answer, and smiled when he said, "Alright, you can come…if you tell me your name."

"I'm Susan Jerong!" she said, standing with the smile still on her face, "What's your name?"

"I'm Inseki Kido, but you can call me 'Terra'. It's the nickname my friends gave me while I was living in my village," he replied, smiling as well.

"Thank you!" she said, "I promise I won't get in your way, Terra!"

MEANWHILE…

"My Lord, everything is going according to plan…" a black robed man said, bowing to a man sitting on a throne made of stone.

"Good…soon, we shall rule over the Earth Kingdom," the man stood, grinning evilly, "With the Avatar gone, none will be able to oppose us! AHAHAHAHA!"

CHAPTER 1 END

Hydraslayer123: I finally got around to writing this chapter, and it probably sucked balls…anyways, Susan Jerong is the OC of corinster2. If anyone wants to have an OC, there is an OC recipe on my profile (I apologize for the clutter on my profile, by the way).

Terra: *rolls eyes* I'm wondering if this was a good idea…

Susan: *smiling* Of course it was a good idea!

Terra: *holds hand to his forehead* Hmmm…

Hydraslayer123: *sighs*


End file.
